Welcome, readers! I'm currently obsessed with Stardew Valley and have spent the past few days reading fanfics of it! I've been inspired by these fics, along with my in-game experiences, to write out my own!

This is going to be the first fanfiction I've written since 2020, I think? So bear with my mediocre writing (although it's always been pretty mediocre but it may have somehow become worse) I want this to be a Shane x Oc story, but we'll see how I manage this :)

It had been a few days since the new farmer moved into Stardew Valley. Thanks to Mayor Lewis and Robin's kind and generous welcome to Pelican Town and the dilapidated farmland to the other side of the bus stop, Denne found it easy to settle into her late grandfather's farm. Before making the move, she couldn't remember the last time she'd willingly woken up before 12pm, much less at 6 in the morning, but this was a wildly important change in her life. She figured waking up so early would be worth it in due time. For now, however, she would struggle until her body became used to the early awakening.

The farmer groaned loudly as she reached for her blaring alarm clock. "Here we go," She told herself once she managed to halt the loud sounds emanating from the clock, rubbing her eyes. If I just get out of bed quick enough and splash some water in my face, it shouldn't be too hard to stay awake. I've managed to do this the past few days, I can keep doing it until I don't have to anymore.

She sat up and looked out the window to notice the sky was still dark.

Yup, that's 6AM. She turned her head to face the clock that read 6:03AM.

Another groan filled the cabin.

After a few moments, she finally stepped out of bed and into her pink bunny slippers with a yawn and a stretch. Thankful to at the very least have a working bathroom, she made her way there to wash her face and brush her teeth. She'd have to make enough money and find enough materials to get a house upgrade from Robin as quick as possible, only missing a kitchen to feel completely at home. Not that she actually knew how to cook in the first place, but being able to have food in her own home was definitely the first thing she'd have to work for.

She looked at herself in her bathroom mirror. Her ocean eyes scanned her face for any imperfections on her fair skin as she grabbed her comb from a shelf and ran it through her disheveled, light pink curls. Sometimes she'd mistake one of her darker pink freckles for a small bump or some acne, but she has since mastered seeing through the differences. She opened the mirror to take out a new toothbrush she'd bought before the move. Time to look presentable!

Humming filled the air as the farmer changed into her farming-capable clothes, a large white t-shirt with some loose-fitting capri jeans. She also slipped into some cowboy boots she'd been gifted by her late grandfather, the past owner of the farmland she now lived on and vowed to fix up, even if it looked just a tiny bit better than it had from the years of neglect. Luckily, Mayor Lewis took it upon himself to make sure the cabin itself was clean enough for any future inhabitants and he was quite relieved to not have made it look good for nothing after all.

After watering the complimentary parsnips she received from Lewis and cutting down some trees to make extra space for more seeds to plant, Denne headed out of the land that was Faible Farm (Named by her, since her grandfather didn't seem to have given it a name when he owned it) and into Pelican Town. The villagers would see her as a bit more trustworthy and responsible if she'd bought more seeds to plant, right?

If I can remember from yesterday, Pierre's should be right around...

"There we go." She sighed in relief once she found the shop's entrance.

Normally, Shane didn't bother to move his head in the direction of the chime that played whenever someone entered the small general store. However, this wasn't a usual normal day for him. He found himself giving in to his curiosity and looking at the entrance of the store after all.

He'd been looking around the shop for an appetizing frozen dinner. Marnie's nephew loved frozen pizza as much as the next guy, but a person can only have the same thing so many times in a row for lunch.

His eyes had wandered from the packaged food in his hand to the petite figure that stood at the doorway. She seemed startled by the noise and looked up, letting out a quiet "Oh, so this is one of those shops." Her pink curls reached down to the middle of her back and she held a little basket in one of her hands.

"There she is!" He heard Pierre exclaim in a welcoming tone. "How's the farmer of the hour?" The shopkeeper asked with a grin that began at one ear and ended at the other.

This is the new farmer? Shane started thinking to himself. The person Lewis made such a big deal over a few days ago? He felt that she didn't seem like someone who would take the effort to do labor on a farm, but figured that the rest of the town probably thought the same thing.

The Joja worker huffed and rolled his eyes, deciding he was more hungry than he was willing to deal with a new person in town during one of his free days from his job. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he was eager to talk to someone that wasn't Jas or Marnie. It's gotten harder for him to tell if there even was a last time these days.

He heard the two talking out of earshot as he continued to look for an appealing dinner, something about the yummiest crops to grow as Denne wasn't much of a planteater before moving into Pelican Town. He felt one of his eyebrows raise when he also heard something along the lines of, "Which crops do you think could make me enough quick money to get a kitchen put in my house?"

"Tch, some farmer..." Shane mumbled, when he began hearing steps coming in his direction. Thankful to not have said something worse, he began tensing up and straightening his posture in shock of possibly having been heard.

Don't come over here, don't come over here, don't come over here...

"Ooh, frozen dinners!" He looked to his right to see the new farmer, the movement of the basket in her hand slowing once she reached her destination.

Shane took this chance to look at Denne closely before deciding to never lay an eye on her again for the rest of his life. He figured she's the shortest not-too-young-but-not-too-old woman in town, comparing her 5'0" figure to his measly 5'7" self. Her young, fair face was adorned with small, pink specks, most of them congregated near her nose and cheeks. Her hair definitely gave her some extra inches in height, as it was a soft, bouncing, curly mess around her head that ended near the small of her back. He compared it to the sheep his aunt keeps at her ranch, except the sheep weren't such a bright color. Aside from the simple outfit she wore, she kept her basket-holding hand in a green glove while her other hand was out in the open. He wanted to laugh in her face when he noticed the boots she wore and considered maybe asking if she really thought that's all she had to do to be called a farmer around here, but he decided to keep quiet.

She seemed more focused on the box in his hands than on the person holding it. "I'll have to remember he sells those when I get a kitchen and a microwave." She said, giggling to herself.

"Are you done talking?" Shane asked in the irritated and miserable tone his voice seemed to naturally carry. He managed to get a flinch out of Denne, as she quickly gasped and looked up at him.

He also managed to get a better look at her eyes, a pool reflecting the sky that was up above the sharp blades of grass in his. They seemed not only full of curiosity, but was that a hint of excitement as well? He never got the chance to quite put his finger on it, as it was quickly replaced by fear when he first spoke. He didn't miss the slightly dark spots below her eyes.

"Oh! I thought you were someone I'd already met, I'm so sorry!" She took a few steps back apologetically, then shyly brought out her ungloved hand to him.

"I'm Denne, I just arrived a few days ago. It's ni-uh, something to meet you I guess." The farmer spoke nervously, getting her words out quicker than she had meant to.

Shane let his eyes drop towards her open hand and then looked back at her face, a glare on his own. For some reason, he was adamant on not humoring her.

Her shy and hopeful smile turned into a look of uncertainty and slight fear.

"Ah, n-not a toucher, I guess..." She mumbled. "H-hand-holder? Handshaker! That sounds much better..." Denne was so occupied on finding a better word than "toucher" that she didn't notice Shane walking away from her, slamming gold on the counter in front of Pierre, and heading out of the shop midsentence. She didn't seem to catch the gruff "Don't talk to me again." that escaped his mouth before the door shut.

The farmer looked around after realizing she was left hanging and self-consciously put her hand down, letting it rest on the basket she had moved onto her shoulder. She looked back at Pierre, who seemed to have witnessed the entire exchange, as he gave her a worried smile.

"That's just Shane, I wouldn't worry about him too much." He then let out a chuckle. "I promise you it's not a personal thing, he's that way with everyone. Couldn't even bother telling you his name!" He sighed with a smile, as if he said a clever joke.

"Ah," Denne began. "I might have cried if it was personal..." She let out a small sigh of relief. Pierre laughed once again, letting one of his hands slap the top of the counter he stood behind. "Oh, this is great." He hooted to himself as she began to make her way out of the shop.

"Thank you for the crop advice, Pierre! I'll let you know how the harvest goes." She assured the shopkeeper, giving him a wave while he nodded and returned the wave with his own.

"Come back soon, Denne!"

Once she made it out of the small shop, Denne noticed Shane walking in the direction of Marnie's from the corner of her eye.

Wow, that was embarrassing...Wish he decided to be a jerk when Pierre wasn't looking...

A growing warmth and redness on her face decided to accompany her thoughts. She then sighed as she tried to distract herself with the thought of her first meal of the day.

It was time to go to the saloon.